This year, Local Government is represented among the 38 finalists in the 2008 national Safe Work Australia Awards, the premier national safety awards in Australia.
The awards, a key initiative of the Australian Safety and Compensation Council (ASCC), recognise excellence in occupational health and safety (OHS) at the government, organisation and individual level.
The finalists in each of the five national award categories were winners of OHS awards in their State or Territory.
Local Government is represented in the Public Sector Leadership Award for Injury Prevention and Management category, with Tasmania’s Burnie City Council being named as a finalist.
Burnie City Council has been recognised for its Occupational Health and Safety Management System (OHSMS), a dynamic and modern OHS management system. Council has adopted a proactive approach to OHS, allowing for a continuous focus on enhancing the safety and education of its employees and the community at large.
Burnie City Council’s OHSMS has achieved a 60 per cent reduction in workers compensation premiums over the past three years.
ASCC Chairman, Bill Scales AO, said the awards promote the important role of OHS in every Australian workplace.
“Each year over 140 000 Australians are seriously injured at work and more than 250 die as a result of work related injuries,” Bill Scales said. “The tragedy is that work related injury, illness and death can be prevented through the adoption of safer work practices.”
The national Safe Work Australia Awards provide an opportunity for Local Governments to be recognised for their contribution to increasing OHS awareness and improving safe work practices.
The national Safe Work Australia Awards will be presented in a ceremony at Parliament House, Canberra, on 28 April 2009. The date coincides with World Day for Safety and Health at Work; helping to place a focus on workplace safety locally, nationally and internationally.
Further information about the national Safe Work Australia Awards can be found at www.ascc.gov.au
